


Since You've Been Gone

by grayblebayble (orphan_account)



Category: Milo Murphy's Law, Phineas and Ferb
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Human Perry the Platypus (Phineas and Ferb), Implied Mpreg, Implied Sexual Content, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-04-27 01:01:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14414271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/grayblebayble
Summary: After saving the world from Pistachions, Dakota went missing along with his and Cavendish’s time vehicle. Nine months of radio silence later, Dakota is back; but he’s not alone. Where has he been? Why can’t Cavendish remember the night before Dakota left? And why are the two of them suddenly on the Time Bureau's watch list?





	Since You've Been Gone

Cavendish scowled and continued to type furiously. There were only so many time travel resources available in the early twenty-first century, and he had nearly used every one of them. He pushed himself away from the desktop and exhaled. Cavendish was at a loss. He knew that Dakota was still alive. He had to be. There was no way that he would just steal their time vehicle and vanish. Cavendish was trying everything in his power to find Dakota; but at the end of the day, he could only do so much without technology from their own time.

A loud knock at the door took Cavendish away from his thoughts. He looked at the clock. It was well past two in the morning.

“Really,” He groaned as he stood. “What’s so important it can’t wait until the sun’s risen?” Cavendish opened the door.

And there he stood.

The first thing Cavendish noticed was that he was thinner. Dakota didn’t exactly take up much space to begin with; but now he was practically skin and bones. He was pale too. Cavendish also saw protruding eye bags behind his signature sunglasses.

“Where have you–!”

Dakota shushed him.

“Keep it down, would you?” He whispered fiercely. “Do you realize how many hours it took me to–!” Dakota sighed. “Never mind. You’re right. I owe you an explanation. May I come in?”

Cavendish nodded. Dakota picked up a large suitcase and another cloaked object in his hands. Cavendish attempted to help by taking the object, but was met by resistance from Dakota.

“I’ve got it.” He smirked. “I’ve been carrying this thing around for nine months. I think I can handle a few more minutes.”

Dakota fell back on the couch and stretched his legs. “Gosh,” He groaned. “I have never been more glad to sit on a futon.”

Cavendish sat in the chair opposite to him, his face still stoic. “Well then? Explain.”

“Geeze, nice to see you too Cavendish. Seriously, not even a ‘hello’?”

“Fine. ‘Hello’ Dakota, it’s nice to see you over half a year after we saved the world from an evil empire of sentient pistachio plants. After you left–!”

Dakota shushed him again. “I said be quiet!”

Cavendish grit his teeth. “Enough chit chat, now tell me; when have you been?”

“I–” He hesitated. “I was here. In Danville. In the twenty-first century.”

“You–!” Cavendish sputtered. “You’ve been here this whole time? Really, Dakota. I’ve spent nine months looking for you across space and time with what little resources I have and you’re telling me you’ve been right here in Danville?”

“Yes, I am telling you that.” He said plainly.

Cavendish scoffed. “I cannot believe you! So, what have you been doing? Mini golfing? Sightseeing–?”

“I was in the hospital.”

“I–” Cavendish shut his mouth. “I’m sorry.” He hung his head.

“Apology accepted. May I continue?”

“Yes. I’m listening.”

“Thank you,” Dakota shifted to a more comfortable position. “So yeah, I’ve been in the hospital for about a month. I was put on bedrest for awhile. But before that, I was actually working on tying up some loose ends from the whole Pistachion incident.”

“What ‘loose ends’?”

Dakota sighed, fixing his glasses with shaky hands. “Cav, what do you remember from the night after we returned?”

“Well, I remember–” He paused. “Now that you mention it, not much.”

“I figured you wouldn’t, but what’s the last thing you can remember?”

Cavendish thought for a moment. “I remember we came back here to the apartment. We had just dropped Milo Murphy off at his own home. We shared a bottle of wine over dinner.” He smiled fondly at the memory, then furrowed his brows. “The next thing I knew it was morning. I woke up and you and the time vehicle were gone.”

“Hmm,” Dakota pondered. “Interesting.”

“I don’t understand. What have you been doing these past months? And why didn’t you ask me for help?”

“Look,” Dakota yawned. “It’s been a rough night for me. I literally got discharged like, an hour ago. I need to sleep, then I promise that I’ll explain everything. Capisce?”

Cavendish wanted to argue with him. But considering just how exhausted Dakota looked, he figured that he could wait a few more hours. “Very well. Go get some rest, then.”

Dakota smiled. “Thanks, Cav.” He stood and began to make his way into their bedroom. “Oh! By the way,” He turned back. “Can you feed her in an hour? She should be fine until then but if you could please–?”

“Feed whom?”

A loud noise erupted from the cloaked object. It was high pitched and gave Cavendish an immediate headache. Dakota turned back to the object and pulled out a tiny squalling infant. 

“Hey, c’mere beautiful.” Dakota shushed the child. He gently bounced her as he paced across the room. Her clamoring cries slowly turned into hushed whimpers.

“I knew I was forgetting something important.” He whispered.”Cavendish, this is Kiara. She’s our kid.”

Cavendish dropped his jaw. His eyes nearly popped out of his head. “Our what?”

“Please, just bear with me Cav.” Dakota grunted as he put her back into her carseat. “I promise that she’s a really good kid. She hardly ever cries and usually just wants to be held. I just need you to watch her until–” Dakota’s knees buckled. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he collapsed.

“Dakota!” Cavendish couldn’t help but shout. “Dakota, wake up!” He firmly patted his face. Cavendish quickly checked Dakota’s pulse, relieved when he felt a steady heartbeat. He slung a limp arm over his own shoulder and dragged Dakota to bed. Once settled, he returned to the den to observe the little creature that his partner had brought home.

This should have been impossible. This child’s existence was impossible. Cavendish wanted nothing more than to scoff and claim it wasn’t true. But as he studied her, he realized that she was a perfect combination of both his and his partner’s physical appearances. Kiara had tawny skin and tuff of curly brown hair that was obviously inherited from Dakota. But her eyes were unmistakably the same shade of bluish-gray that Cavendish had. Her facial features were harder to make out, but Cavendish assumed that she would grow to have a similar jawline to his own. She was also likely be shorter, like Dakota.

Despite popular belief, Cavendish didn’t actually hate kids. If anything, he was terrified of them. He was scared of who they could become or what they’d grow up to do. As a time traveler, he had witnessed many children grow up to be great people; but he had also seen many more become monsters. Children made him uncomfortable because they made him think of everything that could go wrong. It was ironic in some ways that kids were scared of him in return.

Cavendish sat extremely still as he watched her, afraid that any sudden movement might cause her to become distressed again. Everything felt like it was all apart of some crazy fever dream. Dakota was back, and they had a child; though he still wasn’t sure how that had happened. 

Cavendish checked the clock and noticed that the hour was almost up. He took Dakota’s belongings and began going through them in search of the proper necessities. Once Cavendish found the baby formula and a bottle, he slipped into the small kitchenette of their rental apartment and started a kettle to boil. He had never actually fed a baby before, but he had seen other people do it. It couldn’t be that difficult, could it? As he waited for the kettle, he read the back of the container for directions. The bottle was so small, he thought. Was this really all she needed to eat?

Before he could answer his own questions, the kettle whistled. Cavendish took it off the stove and poured the hot water in with the formula. He screwed the lid closed and shook the bottle. He winced as several drops of boiling water splashed his skin. Cavendish tested the formula on his wrist. Once he was satisfied with the temperature, he went to fetch the child.

Cavendish was surprised to find her awake in her carseat. Curious blue eyes peered up at the world. He knelt down and struggled to unbuckle her seatbelt. Apparently these things were designed to make it difficult for children and adults to open it alike. After finally unstrapping the infant, Cavendish carefully took her out of the carseat. He cradled her in the crook of his elbow and smiled.

“Are you hungry?” He pressed the nipple to her lips. Kiara quickly took to the bottle and began to nurse greedily. Cavendish sat on the futon and lightly rubbed her back. She was so small. Smaller than any newborn he’d ever seen. Had she been born prematurely? He certainly hoped not. That could lead to serious health issues down the line. About halfway through her meal, Kiara turned her head and refused to eat.

“What’s wrong?”

Kiara shrieked. The sound tore a hole into Cavendish’s chest while simultaneously prompting panic. He frantically hushed her and murmured careless words of comfort. Cavendish positioned her upright and let her rest on his shoulder. He tried pacing and bouncing like he had seen Dakota do, but nothing seemed to work. Kiara hiccuped in between cries. He started patting her back. The baby belched, then soon became calm.

Cavendish relaxed, suddenly feeling the urge to start crying himself. How could such a tiny person come into his life and immediately turn everything on its head?

**Author's Note:**

> I may make this into a series, but at the moment I'm still plotting this first work. Please leave kudos and comments! <3


End file.
